New-Born Stars: Astro Star Quest 2015 Final

After several years not following this competition, I found my way to the Final "live" show again. So there I was, sitting among Astro celebrity guests, coaches and entertainment professionals, behind the Rock Zone, with many tall boys standing in front of me, in anticipation of the show I had been kindly fed information with, courtesy of ex-colleagues who have something to do with the show one way or another. 

An indication of the success that's built up over the years, the supporters and audience receptively add their own enthusiasm with coloured light sticks that illuminated the hall and made the entire event more exciting. 

As the lights dim, and the countdown to the "live" show over Astro Wah Lai Toi starts, my view was again, silhouettes of people, now with illuminated sticks.

I was told that for the first time, the judging format would give each of the 5 finalists: Jacqueline, Debbie, Daniel, Joseph and Apple, 15 minutes to perform their own concert. In between their solos, they would be joined each by an assigned past year winner to duet with.  

"Animals" danced during rendition of "Roar" originally by Katy Perry

I had no favourites in mind going into the final. But I had taken the trouble to watch the music videos circling in facebook-dom, where they each had recorded a cover song.

First up was Jacqueline. I thought she was a strong contender with a strong voice & strong stage presence, although she apparently slipped during a dance routine. But then again, I couldn't see much due to the standing audience in front of me.

Debbie was the next contestant. I can say, she is the least of my favourites as I did not care for her entire packaging. I thought the straight blond hair with big headgears on her head was something she could not carry. Neither could she carry all the English songs that she sang as her pronunciation was apparent of someone who does not really understand English but chooses to mimic somebody singing English.  

When it was Daniel's turn, he lightened the heavy mood set by the previous 2 ladies, as he was a natural showman. Rhythm and a flexible body language was very much a natural state for him and I can say, he is truly a born performer.

From screen capture of Uriah's moving performance, 2 violins and a piano

From Uriah See's facebook: with his mom & brother who accompanied him on stage

The mood became even better when he was joined by guest performer, Uriah See, last year's winner, who has a great star presence. Uriah then went on to perform his new composition, 给爱 （Give Love）for the first time in public, joined by his mother on the piano and his younger brother on the violin. I must complement it as it was a very mature and moving song, away from the norm of the teeny-bopper melody-less songs that fill Chinese radio airtime nowadays. 

Next contestant, Joseph, seemed to be a dfficult one to fathom. He has the best-sounding textured voice amongst all. But he was unable to wow the audience and judges due to his stiff figure on stage.

Apple was said to be the favourite to win for the night. And she came out last, very much a topic of discussion amongst the audience, who identified balloons dropping, and other special effects awarded to the final contestant to perform, as indication for an intended winner. She has a naturally-clear high-ranged voice, but as a performer, it felt as though she was being pushed to be the rock star with her purple hair, but instead of following that built-up momentum, she reacted instead with demure side-to-side swaying.

As a producer of competitions, a difficult one to balance is always the need to create an  entertaining show VS the fairness of a competition. 

This concert format rundown, by obviously placing a strong vocals Jacqueline and ending with the favourite to win, Apple, strongly shown that entertainment value was placed first over what is deemed the fairness of a competition. In deciding the line-up of an entertainement show, we always start with someone fairly strong with upbeat entertainment (in this case, Jacqueline) and give the last performance to the one who is most popular (Apple). 

Apple eventually won, and the judges had hinted it to be so even before the winner's announcement by the MCs.

Nevertheless, despite the weaknesses shown by the contestants who are yet to be seasoned performers, this was an extremely grand concert and an amazing production for them to feel like stars. 

With past year winners lending their might, it was no doubt, a celebration and a reminder to all to keep appreciating this production and its new-born stars every year.

The Dream Lives On: Astro Star Quest, Astro 新秀大赛

In one week's time is the Astro Star Quest final 2015 Astro新秀大赛, which will see the birth of more new Chinese talent winners into the Malaysian Chinese entertainment industry.

It feels like the blink of an eye. Has it been 18 years since I produced the first of its series in 1998, the first time ever we used the name Astro Talent Quest, which was subsequently changed to Astro Star Quest a few years later. (In 1997, the first singing championship was organized by the newly-launched Astro but it was named after the Hong Kong counterpart International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship.)

Those beginning years, as a pioneer producer for Astro, life was fresh but dramatic in unchartered territory. Astro was like the rescuer of the Malaysian Chinese entertainment industry that never took off. 

When I was assigned to be the producer for Chinese channel, which was something I expected very naturally, I took it up with unpolluted boldness,  even though I could not read or speak Chinese well. There was no one there telling me what I should and should not do, therefore, I created the content,  the competition, the working procedures, everything that came to my path, with a fresh and simplistic mind. 

This is the only photo in my personal collection of
Astro Talent Quest1998 Astro  新秀大赛

In the first year I produced it, the economy was not doing well. Budgets were small. Astro was just beginning to find its way into homes. We built a set in Astro's Studio 1, for the live show performed to only 100 studio audience.

The next year, I was not contented to be told that it was unnecessary for the show to become bigger than where it was originally planned -- in the 100-seat studio. This show was created to start a loyal following and to build the Astro brand, so shouldn't we make it into an event where more fans could attend? The  management then only had to fulfill having programs be seen on the TV screen, so having a public event was considered unnecessary. 

Anyway, with rash determination, I found my way to having, not only this competition's first, but Astro's first ever live Finals production at the Arena of Stars, Genting, in the wide open public, beyond the walls of the Astro building. 

Internally, my actions were met with lukewarm responses. How are you going to grow your audience from 100 pax of contestant family members to a 6,000-strong crowd to fill the seats at the Arena? Who will come to watch a show filled with only "kuchi rats?" Those were real questions being thrown at me.

I have never had answers for them, and neither did the Chinese channel head. In those days, I was young, proud, believing, determined and ambitious, and I never could adjust myself to the corporate need for justification and "guaranteed" forecast results. I just believed we could and we had to. 

Nevertheless, the marketing personnel did their best to give away free tickets to the 1999 Astro Talent Quest Final at several shopping malls to Astro subscribers who showed up with proof of their Astro bill. 

The marketing people came back and reported, to their great surprise, that at each of the shopping mall that Astro had decided to set up a ticket booth, the people were lining up till outside the building to get the tickets!

At this time, Lee Hom had just released his 2nd album and was still relatively unknown in Malaysia.
Here he is rehearsing with the contestants for the Top 3 challenge.
That's Gary Chaw, in black top and blue jeans, who later became a superstar, changing his Chinese name to 曹格.

Finally, it was time to go up the hills and set up our stage. I had agreed to invite an upcoming singer from Taiwan, called Lee Hom 王力宏 to be the guest performer and to "test" the final contestants before deciding on the winner! Again, internally, questions were posed to me. In cantonese -- "Mat sui lei ge?" Who is that?

Lee Hom 王力宏 surprised everyone with his 

incredible stage presence.

The moments leading up to the 8pm "live" show was unbelievably exciting. By 7:30pm, the entire Arena of Stars was over-filled. Audiences who couldn't find a seat were sitting on the steps or standing by the walls!

Everybody in Astro could not believe their eyes. Here was a singing championship, still in its infancy, and starring "kuchi rats." The contestants were far from being famous celebrities. Lee Hom was still not a household name. The judges were also low-profile industry professionals. It was unheard of in Malaysia for such a great public response to a singing competition. These were the days BEFORE American Idol and other Western singing reality shows had even started.


The show had a fantastic response, and a respected music producer friend congratulated me instantly, saying it was the most entertaining show she had ever been to.

The undisputable winner of 1999 Astro Talent Quest, Lee Yih Ching 李玉钦 

Giggling and excited till I forgot to comb my hair

With the old gang & Lee Hom 王力宏  

Lee Hom 王力宏 with the Finalists of Astro Talent Quest 1999 Astro 新秀大赛

This competition is still going strong in its 17th year. It is even now performed to a live audience of 10,000 at the stadium. 

We have come a long way. And it is good to know that it is still going on, despite the complaints and the struggles the production team, the broadcaster, and the singers have gone through the years. 

But still it is moving along. Some dreams are still being nurtured. Some dreams have been shoved into the store room of unfulfilled desires. 

No matter what, an advice to those who have perseverance to live their dreams, just remember that your dreams are not decided by a corporation, a manager, a rival, the smallness or bigness of the industry, the advent of Kpop, your mother's opinion or even the audience. A dream will simply not live on if you do not let it live.